


Light In The Shadows

by waddiwasiwitch



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: F/M, Royai Week 2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-12
Updated: 2016-06-12
Packaged: 2018-07-14 15:17:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7177076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waddiwasiwitch/pseuds/waddiwasiwitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Summary: His voice was like music to her ears.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Light In The Shadows

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Royai Week 2016 on Tumblr. Prompt (Day 5): Music
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognise. 
> 
> Notes: Some dialogue taken from Brotherhood Episode 37 (The First Homunculus) and Episode 38 Conflict at Baschool.

**Light In The Shadows**

Riza’s hand shakes as she tries to open the door. Her heart is pounding hard in her chest as she struggles to make sense of what just happened.  
_Selim Bradley is a Homunculus._  
It seems ridiculous. If she had not seen it with her own eyes, she would not believe it.  
_How can a child be one of them?_  
_No - it isn’t a child, she reminds herself. _It’s just shaped like one._  
She fiddles with the lock and the door finally opens. Her breath catches in her throat as she makes out a pair of eyes in the darkness. She gasps loudly as Black Hayate emerges from the shadows. Her body is flooded with relief and suddenly her knees feel weak. She has been running on adrenaline; it could only take her so far after all. _

Riza flicks the light switch on and shuts the door behind her. Inches from the door, unable to stand any longer she slides down to the floor, her back against the wall.  
She shivers at the memory of Pride’s baleful presence, still fearful he could appear in her apartment at any moment.  
Her wrists ache from where he squeezed her and her cheek still stings.  
She can hear Pride’s child like voice in her head: “Just remember Lieutenant, wherever you are, I will be watching you from the shadows.”  
She rests her head against her hands and closes her eyes. She knows she has to tell the Colonel. Somehow. Their situation is precarious enough; any suspicious communication could cause even more trouble for them.

The phone starts to ring and startles Riza from her reverie.  
_Is it Pride ringing to unsettle me? Does Bradley know?_  
Fear gripping her, she gets to her feet; her body feels heavy and sluggish like she’s moving in slow motion. When she finally gets to the phone, she stares at it for a moment. It rings a few more times before she can bring herself to pick up the receiver.  
“Hello.”  
“Hello there, madam,” her Colonel says in a playful voice, “it’s your neighbourhood florist.”  
Her heart skips a beat at the sound of his voice and she sighs in relief. As much as she has ached to hear his voice and know he is safe for now, she is aware that he should not be calling because it’s dangerous and foolhardy. _But what else do I expect from Roy Mustang?_ Sometimes, she wonders if he has a death wish.  
“What are you talking about, Colonel?” She runs a hand through her hair.  
“Sorry, I sort of got drunk and bought a car full of flowers.”  
The playful tone in his voice has gone and she wonders if he can sense her distress.  
“Want to do me a favour and take some of them off my hands?”  
She knows he’s not really ringing her for such a foolish reason. Likely it’s the same reason she longed to hear him speak. She lets out a soft sigh and shuts her eyes for a moment.  
“What’s wrong?” he asks.  
Her eyes open again and widen in surprise.  
_How can he read me do well?_  
“Did something happen?” he presses.  
She knows she can’t tell him. Not like this. Not when Pride could be listening. She takes a deep breath and steels herself.  
“No, sir, it’s nothing,” she says.  
“Are you sure?”  
“Yes,” she says. She tries to keep her voice as even as she can. She can’t afford to break down and he knows better than to press any harder. “Sorry to let you down, but I don’t even own a flower vase. Thanks for thinking of me though. Have a good night.”  
“Take care, Lieutenant,” he says softly.  
“Ok - bye.”  
Trembling she puts down the phone, a small smile on her face. His voice was like music to her ears, a balm to her troubled soul.  
She crouches down and cuddles Hayate, who rests his snout on her shoulder. He lets out a small whine, clearly still troubled by her earlier demeanour.  
“It’s amazing how uncanny his timing is,“ she whispers. 

Somehow, the shadows don’t seem so ominous anymore.  
She would be lying if she says she is no longer afraid. She is more terrified than she ever remembers feeling, but a light shines through the darkness - hope for Amestris. As long as fools like Roy Mustang were still fighting, so would she.

**Fin**


End file.
